Meta Sues AI 'Nudify' App Crush AI Over Platform Ads

Meta has filed a lawsuit against the creator of a widely-used AI "nudify" application, Crush AI, which allegedly ran thousands of advertisements across Meta's platforms. Alongside the legal action, Meta announced it is implementing new measures to combat similar apps like Crush AI.

In a lawsuit filed in Hong Kong, Meta accused Joy Timeline HK, the company behind Crush AI, of attempting to bypass its ad review system to promote AI nudification services. According to a Meta blog post, the company repeatedly removed the entity's ads for policy violations, but Joy Timeline HK persistently created new ones.

As reported by Alexios Mantzarlis, author of the Faked Up newsletter, Crush AI employed generative AI to produce non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfakes of real individuals. The service reportedly placed over 8,000 ads for its "AI undresser" tools on Meta's platforms in early January 2025. Mantzarlis' January analysis indicated that nearly 90% of Crush AI's website traffic originated from Facebook or Instagram, and he personally reported several of these sites to Meta.

To evade Meta's advertising safeguards, Crush AI allegedly created dozens of advertiser accounts and regularly changed domain names. Mantzarlis noted that many accounts were labeled "Eraser Annyone's Clothes" followed by numerical variations. At one stage, the service even maintained an active Facebook page promoting its offerings.

Facebook and Instagram aren't alone in facing these issues. As platforms like X and Meta rapidly integrate generative AI features, they simultaneously grapple with preventing these technologies from creating unsafe environments, especially for younger users.

Research shows that links to AI undressing applications proliferated dramatically during 2024 on platforms including X and Reddit. YouTube also reportedly displayed advertisements for such apps to millions of viewers. In response, Meta and TikTok have blocked search terms related to AI nudify tools, though completely eliminating these services remains difficult.

Meta revealed in a blog post that it developed specialized technology to detect advertisements for AI nudify or undressing services, even when the ads contain no explicit imagery. The company is now employing pattern-matching systems to rapidly identify and remove duplicate ads, while expanding its lexicon of flagged terms, phrases, and emojis.

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Meta stated it is applying established techniques for disrupting malicious actor networks to these new clusters of accounts promoting AI nudify services. Since January 2025, the company has dismantled four distinct networks advertising these tools.

Beyond its own platforms, Meta will begin sharing intelligence on AI nudify applications through the Tech Coalition's Lantern program—a collaborative initiative with Google, Snap, and other tech firms to combat online child sexual exploitation. Meta reported sharing over 3,800 unique URLs through this network since March.

Regarding legislation, Meta committed to continuing support for laws that enable parents to monitor and approve their teenagers' app downloads. The company previously endorsed the US Take It Down Act and is currently collaborating with legislators on its implementation.